Taken on October 27, 2022, this illustration shows the Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk through a magnifying glass. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Elon Musk became the owner of Twitter Inc on Thursday, laying off top executives and giving little clarity on how he will achieve the lofty ambitions he has outlined for the influential social media platform.
Electric car maker Tesla Inc. CEO ‘beats’ Twitter’s spam bots, publicly releases algorithms that determine how content is presented to users, turning platform into echo chamber of hate and division He says he wants to prevent it from happening. Even if he limits censorship.
But Musk hasn’t given any details on how he’ll accomplish all of this or who will run the company. He said he plans to cut jobs, and Twitter’s roughly 7,500 employees are worried about the future. He said on Thursday that he bought Twitter not to make more money, but to “try to help the human race that I love.”
Musk has fired Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal and legal and policy director Vijaya Gadde, according to people familiar with the matter. He had accused numerous fake accounts on social media platforms of misleading him and his Twitter investors.
Agrawal and Segal were at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters when the deal closed and were escorted, the sources added.
Twitter, Musk and executives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Chief Tweet”
Not afraid to indulge in theatrics before closing the $44 billion acquisition, Musk walked into Twitter’s headquarters Wednesday with a big smile and a porcelain sink, before saying, “Let it sink.” Please,” he muttered. He changed his Twitter profile description to “Chief Twit.”
He also tried to assuage employee fears that major layoffs were looming, telling advertisers that his past criticisms of Twitter’s content moderation rules didn’t detract from the company’s appeal. I assure you no.
“Twitter clearly cannot be a free-spirited hell where anything you say has no consequences!” Musk said in an open letter to advertisers on Thursday.
Musk says he sees Twitter as a foundation for creating “super apps” that offer everything from money transfers to shopping to ride-hailing.
“In my view, Twitter’s long-term potential is orders of magnitude greater than its current value,” Musk said during a Tesla call with analysts on Oct. 19.
But Twitter struggles to attract the most active users that are vital to its business. These “heavy tweeters” make up less than his 10% of total monthly users, but generate his 90% of all tweets and half of global revenue.
Musk also said he would lift a ban on Donald Trump, who was fired after his attack on the US Capitol in May. He launched his own social media app Truth Social instead.
A representative for Trump did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Saga
The deal was the culmination of an amazing story full of twists and turns that raised questions about whether Musk would complete the deal. It began on his April 4th when Musk took his 9.2% stake in the company public, making him the largest shareholder.
The world’s richest man then agreed to join Twitter’s board of directors, but hesitated at the last minute and instead offered to buy the company for $54.20 a share.
Musk’s offer turned out to be a reality, and in just one week in late April, the two sides agreed on the price he proposed. This was done without Musk conducting due diligence on confidential company information, as is customary with acquisitions.
In the weeks that followed, Musk reconsidered. He said Twitter spam his account is less than 5% of his monetizable daily active users, significantly higher than his Twitter estimates published in regulatory filings. He publicly complained that he believed there were many. His attorney then accused Twitter of failing to comply with his request for information on the subject.
As a result, Musk informed Twitter on July 8 that the deal was terminated on the grounds that Twitter misled him about the bot and did not cooperate with him. Four days later, Twitter sued Musk in Delaware, where the company is incorporated, forcing Musk to complete his deal.
By then, shares of social media companies and the broader stock market had plunged on fears that the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes would push the U.S. economy into recession as it seeks to fight inflation. Twitter accused Musk of buyer remorse, claiming he wanted out of the deal because he thought he was overpaid.
Most legal analysts say Twitter has the strongest argument and is likely to win in court. Their views didn’t change after Twitter’s former security chief Peiter Zatko came out as a whistleblower in August, claiming the company failed to disclose its security and data privacy weaknesses.
On Oct. 4, just as Musk was due to be fired by Twitter’s lawyers before his trial began in late October, he made another U-turn, promising to complete the deal as promised. I made an offer. He was able to do it just one day before his Oct. 28 deadline that a Delaware judge gave to avoid going to trial.
Shares of Twitter closed Thursday in New York, rising 0.3% to $53.86, slightly lower than its trading price of $54.20 per share. The stock will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.
